Paying Taxes! Let’s Celebrate it!

1. Paying Taxes! Let’s Celebrate it! Taxation! The expression sounds grim! Even our school books had anecdotes about how some kings had taxed their citizens for royals’ luxurious lives. The British taxed the peasants for centuries to finance their ambitious wars. Things changed when Modern States came into being. Elected governments tax only to build public assets and provide services such as water, roads, shelter, healthcare, waste management, dams, bridges, railways, airports and many more. Besides services, governments working within a democratic framework, also have to cater to the needs of have-nots and disadvantaged population in a country. For instance, India has to look after over one-fourth of its population which struggles for two times meals. All such activities are undertaken by the Central or State Govenrments from the money collected through taxes. A common taxpayer who creates values and wealth in the society, carries the burden of fellow citizens by honestly contributing to the government kitty. It is a fact that the Governments collect over 10% of the GDP as taxes and this percentage would go up in the coming years, the contribution of all stakeholders in the taxation space needs to be celebrated in a big way. This is where TIOL Annual National Taxation Awards come into picture. TIOL, being a pioneer in the taxation knowledge dissemination space, has instituted as many as 10 Awards to recognise the contribution of all stakeholders. All these awards are going to be given away on the occasion of TIOL’s 20th Anniversary on April 25, 2020. It is an occasion to celebrate not only for the TIOLians but all the stakeholders who have patronised TIOL in the past two decades and also contributed to the Exchequers in a big way. read more